Ash On The Wind
by Bubbly88Tay
Summary: "Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow-creatures is amusing in itself." James Anthony Froude. / Erin has an encounter from her past that she may not be able to survive.


**A/N: Hey all, it's me. (Well obviously,)**

 **I thought I would pop my head up and get something posted, and I know it's probably not what _any_ of my followers are wanting, however, here it is. I found a 'Whump Exchange Challenge' That paired me up with a Tumblr user and I was supposed to write a story (no less than a thousand words...) based off that prompt. **

**Because this one shot is just a useless excuse to post some more Jay whump on the interweb, I decided not to worry to much on the story itself.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this little piece of fiction of mine!**

* * *

Disclaimer - I own nothing you all recognize.

* * *

"What are we going to do?" Erin whispered, holding Jay's body close to her as his head lolled around on his collar bone. "Come on Jay, work with me here."

"I don' know. I'm tr'ing." The words were whispers that were breathed out as he would exhale shakily and inhale just as shakily.

"Give me an idea or something babe." Erin pulled his head up against her chest and sat her chin on top of his head.

"Jus' tr'ing to distract me." It was wheezy and quieter than before. Erin knew without a doubt that Jay was fading, and all the blood on the concrete floor beneath the shoddy mattress they were laying on was a pretty good indication that he didn't have long.

And she was crushed because there was nothing else she could do for him besides try to keep him awake and hold him until help arrived. Help that she wasn't sure that he could wait until.

* * *

He had told her that this hadn't seemed right to him. An ex-boyfriend suddenly comes back and tells Erin that he treated her wrong and that he would love to be able to make things right for her. That all he had wanted to do was to say he was sorry.

Jay had called bull shit real quick because 'where did he even come from?'.

"Right after I left him, he got nailed with possession and a bunch of other stuff." Erin had stated, staring off at the road ahead of them, Jay driving the truck like he loved doing.

"Doesn't seem like somebody that you would want back in your life? Correct me if I'm wrong-"

"You're wrong. He always treated me right, and he made some mistakes. Don't we all?" Erin snapped, suddenly growing fiercely and unreasonably protective over the man.

Jay nodded his lips and pursed his lips. "Fine, but I'm coming with you."

"No. You're not." It was firm like she was trying to end the conversation.

"Yes, I am Erin, as the man that you live with and love- "

"Jay,"

"I am not arguing this. Please, put up with me and I won't come inside, I'll wait in the car, but I want to be there if it goes sideways." Erin looked at him, and watched his white knuckles on the steering wheel, and the vessel in his neck pulse and the muscle in his jaw contract. She nodded, knowing that he could see from his peripheral. Conceding with a sigh, she smiled.

"Ok."

"Thank you."

"And you can come inside with me and eat if you want. He said all he wants to do is apologize and that's it. I don't see why you can be there for that."

Jay smiled, "So when are you meeting him?"

"Later on today."

She could see his eyes roll, as he shook his head. "Go figure."

* * *

She walked in first, Jay having got a call right as they pulled up. It was against his better judgment, but she persisted, and he needed to answer. He mouthed five minutes to her as she stepped out of the vehicle.

She pulled the shades over her eyes as she stepped into the sun and almost rushed inside to the diner, wanting to get this started already. She caught his gaze immediately as she stepped into the warm diner, a nice retreat from the frigid air outside. 'Erin!" His arm shot up into the air as he waved her over. He was immediately out of the booth as she walked up to him. "Ashton." She smiled warmly as she was wrapped in his arms. She let him hug her for a second before she pulled apart and looked at him. "Let's eat shall we?"

"I already ordered you the blueberry pie, I know you love that stuff," Ashton said, sitting down across from her.

Erin nodded slightly. "How are you Ashton, you look healthier than the last time I saw you."

He smiled even wider if it was possible. "I am, that's what happens when you stop doing the hard stuff as a hobby. I also have my degree in medicine, so I think I might be going places."

"That's awesome, I am so glad to hear that. However, I know you didn't just call me here to talk about you?" Erin asked, getting right to it as she watched Jay pacing outside, obviously in the midst of a heated conversation. He kept glancing towards the building and then back in front of him as he was obviously doing his best to get off the phone.

Ashton's smile dropped, as he looked across the table at Erin. "Right. Well. I wanted to make things right with you. Obviously, I left things on a sour note."

Erin nodded, raising an eyebrow as she watched Ashton begin to fidget in his seat. She glanced to Jay again as he dropped the arm holding the phone as he glanced irritably up at the sky before he put the phone back to his ear. "We are not reconciling Ashton. I came here to talk to you, and let you know that I forgive you for everything you ever put me through, however, I will not put myself through that again."

Ashton's' smile dropped. The same instant as Jay shoved the phone into his pocket. "Give me another chance Erin. I have changed, I swear. I've cleaned up, and I'm a better man. I'm even on meds to stop the impulses."

"I can't Ash, even if I wanted to." Erin turned to look at the door as Jay walked in and immediately spotted the duo. He smirked as Erin waved him over.

Jay strolled over to the table as he glanced Ashton over a couple of times. "Hey man, you must be Ashton. Erin's been telling me about you." Jay was civil as he held his hand out, a light smile on his lips.

Ashton's face dropped even further. It changed from happy to emotionless, in a matter of seconds. "Ashton, this is Jay, my boyfriend." Erin's words seemed to add to the already growing tension.

It went downhill from there. Ashton hung around for a few minutes. Having a few moments of small talk with Erin, almost completely avoiding Jay besides the few solitary yes or no questions.

He got up when he got a call from his associate. Walking up near the empty bar and pacing there for a few minutes as he spoke on the phone. Erin watched as he hung up and wiped his eyes. Jay shot Erin a tentative look as Erin shook her head and shrugged. "I don't know."

As Ashton walked back to the table, Jay smiled and whispered: "I gotta bad feeling about him."

"Me too." Erin chuckled fakely as Ashton forced a smile on his face as he walked to the table. Pie in hand. "Sorry about that, work."

"You have a job?" Erin asked as Ashton placed Erin's pie in front of her. "What do you do?"

"I sort product brought into some of the warehouses my employer owns. You know, a bunch of fun stuff. But it keeps food on the table, and rent paid."

Erin continued to smile encouragingly as Jay dug into her pie, ignoring the look of disdain that Ashton shot him. Jay immediately grimaced as he chewed then swallowed the pie, putting his fork down immediately. "That's disgusting," Jay questioned. Looking over at Ashton. "How does yours taste?"

Ashton raised an eyebrow as he raised another forkful to mouth. "Good enough that if you guys don't finish that piece, I will?" Ashton chuckled as he placed the bite in his mouth and chewed. Erin glanced at Jay as he shook his head as he furrowed his eyebrows, studying the pie meticulously.

He put his fork down as he looked across the table and looked straight ahead at Ashton, studying him as well. Jay remained quiet, for the next few minutes, as he pulled his phone out and began to text someone.

Erin watched Jay closely as she continued to converse with Ashton. It wasn't until Jay put his head on the table, and began to tap his hands on her leg rhythmically that Erin realized something was very wrong. "Hey, Jay?"

"Hmm."

"You ok?"

It wasn't a moan so much as a sigh as Jay shook his head in response. Erin glanced up at Ashton as he smirked at her, almost as if he didn't have any ideas what was happening.

"Probably not. I've never seen it take so long to go into effect before. His immune system must be strong as hell." Erin's eyes flashed as she looked at Ashton, gripping Jays tapping hand tightly.

"Make any sort of noise that might indicate stress and I will shoot him, and then I will shoot you. Erin Play it smart."

Jay didn't shoot his head up like Erin would expect from him. Instead, it raised slowly, as if the severity of the situation was unknown to him, his fingers still tapping rhythmically on her thigh. "Both of you are coming with me. Do you understand?"

Erin watched as Jay squeezed his eyes closed, then popped them back open as he attempted to stay aware of the situation, but even that seemed to be a failing venture. Erin squeezed his hand tighter than before, Jay gripping it less tightly, his head bobbing as Erin glared across the table. "What are you doing Ashton. This is stupid-"

"This is what you have forced me to do," Ashton said it so calm. Calmer than Erin could ever remember him being with her. Erin hadn't had enough time to grow shocked with the turn of events but she was angry, and all she wanted to do was to hit the man. Hard.

"Now get up, and let's go. Bring him with you." He slid out of the seat and slid a $20 on the table. He stood up and offered a hand to Erin, who ignored it and slid out of the seat and immediately turned back to the slouched Jay. "Hey babe, we gotta go now."

He was breathing heavily now, as he looked up at Erin was heavy eyes. "Something's not right." It was almost a plea for help as he shot Ashton a half-assed glare, then looked back to Erin. Erin bit her bottom lip as she turned around and looked right up into Ashton's face.

A waitress started to make her way over as Ashton shoved the cool metal of his gun up into Erin's shirt, likely concealing the weapon. "Say a word and everyone in here dies. Starting with him."

"Hey guys, everything seem to be OK?" The waitress, 'Carol,' was nice enough. She strutted as if she owned the joint, as she popped up on Erin's side and glanced down at Jay who shook his head 'no.' Erin felt the gun nudged roughly into her back as she reached down and placed one hand on Jay's cheek and another on his arm, to try and pull him up. She pulled Jay out of his seat as Carol helped, letting him rest himself against the table.

"Yea, my boyfriend here seems to have eaten something that didn't settle correctly." Erin smiled as she turned to Ashton. "Hey, Ashton, why don't you be a sweetheart and grab my bag for me." She smiled, but she knew for a fact that she wasn't giving off the warm and inviting feel. She felt Jay slipping beneath her grasp and grabbed a better grip on him, trying to hold him up.

His head dropped on her shoulder as Ashton reached behind her to grab her purse. Erin took the second to look Carol in the eye and mouth 'call 911.' The urgency flashing across both of their faces. Carol nodded vigorously, stopping as Ashton began to turn back. Erin smiled once again and turned to Ashton. "What do you say we get him home?"

All Ashton did was smile in return.

* * *

The trio stumbled outside, Ashton staying behind as Erin did her best to prop Jay up as they walked, Jay getting closer and closer to oblivion. Ashton pointed to a dark blue, Chevy Impala and pulled open the back door, "Put him there."

Erin slid him into the car and he quickly slumped over, his eyes shut and his body immediately slumping to his side. She reached into buckle his seat belt before Ashton pulled her back out and slammed the door shut. "Passenger seat." She hesitated and that's all it took for him to pull the gun out to where she could see it and put it against her jaw. "I will kill you both if you don't listen to me. Passenger seat. Now!"

Erin nodded and walked around to the other side of the car. She shot a glance at the diner one more time before she opened the door and sat in the car. Ashton quickly followed suit and was behind the steering wheel in seconds. He started the car and they drove away.

* * *

Carol rushed to the phone as soon as the trio had walked out of the diner. "Carol, what are you doing? Table 6 is about to start a riot if they don't get their food." Tina walked over to her, placing an arm on her shoulder.

"Did you see that woman practically carrying the man out of here, and the other guy with them?"

"Yea, the one that seemed sick was really friendly, the other guy gave me a weird vibe."

"Well, the woman just asked me to call 911, I think something's wrong."

"Why would you think that?"

"I saw a gun Tina, he was holding her at gunpoint."

* * *

"Voight, this Sergeant Wilkers down in the 31st?"

"Tommy, I remember you, how can I help you?"

"Well, we got a call from a diner down here. One of the waiters says that she saw a woman and two men. One of the guys seemed really lethargic like he was about to pass out and the other was holding the woman at gunpoint."

"OK, I don't see how that brings me into it."

"Well, we looked into it, and there's a car in the parking lot that hasn't been touched since we arrived. The license plate went back to your detectives. Lindsay and Halstead?"

"We'll be right down."

* * *

He stopped once. To throw her purse into the bay. Shortly thereafter they pulled up to a warehouse that was at least 45 minutes away from the diner. He had obviously been here before. As he was able to keep his eyes on her and still be able to drive. He pulled up to a smaller warehouse. Closer to the size of a house. It looked abandoned like no one had been there in ages, but she knew otherwise. "Ash. You can't do this. You said that you were better. This - kidnapping two police officers - is not better."

Ashton shook his head, "It won't just be kidnapping when I'm through."

"Ash."

"Get out of the car, and walk into the door. I'll give you further instructions from there."

Erin shook her head as she flung the car door open and walked towards the building. She didn't know what to do. She couldn't run because she couldn't leave Jay. She couldn't fight because she had no high ground. She couldn't just give him what he wanted because she had no idea what that was. She began trotting, trying to ignore the cool wind nipping at her heels. She reached the door and twisted the handle, it surprisingly opened with ease.

She stepped inside and was taken aback by the warmth, and as her eyes adjusted, the relative darkness. It was the size of an open house, in the far left corner, there was a bed, with a bag sitting on it, he must have been staying here. In the far right corner, there was a table, holding instruments like knives and car batteries that Erin didn't even want to think about. To her right, there was a wall, filled with photos, of her. And to her left, there were chains attached to the floor. Two sets, each in reach of each other. A mattress sat below each set of chains.

"Jesus, have you been planning this?" She turned around to look Ashton in the eye, upset to see the proud glint in his eye. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

For the first time that day, and likely not the last, he slapped her, hard. Hard enough for her to stagger back and bring her hand to her face, feeling for a split in her skin that she felt like had to be there. He pointed towards the shackles against the wall, and she took her cue and walked to them. Within a minute the shackles were attached to her ankles, restraining her to the section of the room.

He began to leave, likely to grab Jay before he turned back to her. "I've been planning this for a long time Erin, a really long time."

He walked out the door as she let her back hit the wall. The news hitting her like a Mac truck. She stood, waiting for him to return as she once again took stock of her surroundings. She was trapped, no doubt about that. She looked to the middle of the room, where there were chains hanging from the rafters. Erin wasn't sure how she had managed to miss that before, but those chains were no doubt, meant for one, if not both, of the detectives. She didn't want Ashton to notice, but Erin was scared. Her hands trembled at her sides as her eyes flicked from one nearly empty corner to the next.

It seemed like an eternity, but she knew it couldn't have been more than five minutes later that the door was kicked open and Jay staggered into the room, his hands cuffed behind his back and his head barely staying straight on his shoulder. His eyes flashed quickly throughout the room before they landed on Erin's. Jay stopped walking and shot her a look of confusion. The look was cut short as Ashton kicked Jay's legs out from underneath him, sending Jay crashing to his knees. Erin could see Jay suck his bottom lip into his mouth as he cocked his head as if trying his best not to turn around and drop kick Ashton's ass.

Erin assumed the gun pressed into his back was partly preventing any of his stupidity, but she could also tell that Jay was still dealing with whatever drug was in his system. He was too lethargic to her liking.

Seconds later Ashton had his hand in Jay's hair, pulling it roughly upwards as Jay awkwardly maneuvered himself to his feet, all while Ashton yanked at his head. Erin could feel her heart pounding, needing Jay to be at her side as Ashton glanced at her. His eyes darkened a shade as he turned Jay towards the center of the room. Erin was actually terrified for a second, thinking that chains in the center were meant for Jay, and so it was. Ashton kicked Jay down to his knees again as Jay noticeably was breathing deeply, as he stared away from Erin. She could only assume he was trying to calm himself, she had seen him do similar techniques before when he was upset.

Ashton pulled on the chains, releasing a lever on his makeshift pulley system that he had a few feet away. The chains lowered down to Jay's head, and Ashton made quick work of them, cuffing Jay's hands in front of him. Ashton leaned down at that point and was level with Jay, and whispered words into Jay's ear. Erin didn't know what was said, but seconds later Jay was speaking back, and he must have something that pissed him off because moments later, Ashton pushed away from Jay, and flipped another lever, lifting the chains, and subsequently Jay, up into the air.

"Ashton, please, listen to me, this isn't you!" Erin yelled, her voice hoarse as she watched Jay rising with a horrified expression. Ashton kept the chains rising until Jay's toes brushed the ground if he extended his body. Then Ashton stopped them and turned to Erin.

"You have no right to speak to me as if you know me. You left me, you never came and visited me when I was in the big house." Ashton's eyes flashed of sadness and despair as he looked down at the keys in his hands, then he tossed them towards Erin. They skidded just short of where the chains stopped, and Erin eyed them with a whispering of a hopeful look, that disappeared again as she looked up at Ashton, who was beginning a trek to the table of instruments. "I changed for you and you never even returned my calls. You were the one for me, Erin."

Jay's body was spinning in circles as he squirmed in the chains, probably trying to position himself comfortably, knowing that however long he was there, it was not going to be good. Erin looked at him, desperately trying to find a way out of this as Ashton picked up a knife off of the table of odd assortments.

Ashton turned back to Erin, knife in his right hand, his sweater balled up in his left. "But I guess I just wasn't the one for you."

Erin wasn't how long that silence that followed lasted, but she wished it would have dragged on longer the moment Ashton shoved the knife into Jay's left thigh. It wasn't a scream, and Erin could only assume that this wasn't the first time this had happened to Jay, but there was an audible intake of air from Jay, presumably from the pain.

Surprisingly, Ashton left the knife there. Which probably meant fewer holes in Jay for the time being, but it did not mean that Ashton did nothing. Instead, the man used his fists. He didn't really settle for hitting one area at first, instead peppering his hits all along Jay's upper body. Jay's face was the first thing hit, which sent his head whipping to his right, slinging his body around with it. The next punch had been rained down right above his left hip, on his lower back. Erin lost track after that, instead, she did her best to try not to watch.

To Jay's credit, he kept the noises down. All Erin heard as she stared at the wall behind the pair, was a grunt every so often. After a while, Ashton focused instead on the torso and lower back. Whatever ide faced him, he would hit.

She couldn't imagine it had been that long, but after what seemed like forever, Ashton stopped punching, and instead breathed heavily and dropped his hands to his sides, staring intently at the red, black, and purple bruised flesh in front of him on Jay's face and in between the cracks of Jays shirts and his pants. His shirt pulled up an inch or two with his arms up in the air. The pair stayed that way until Jay stopped spinning.

Ashton turned him so that he was facing Erin and himself, then hit the lever, dropping Jay to his feet. His left leg wouldn't have supported his weight, and he would have toppled over if it weren't for the fact that his suspended arms still bore some of his weight.

Ashton left him hanging like that for a few minutes as he let out a huff of air and whisked himself outside. The door slammed close behind him and Erin winced at the noise as she looked over at Jay.

Her eyes immediately began to water up as she looked him over, his eyes drawn to the bruises, and the knife. "This is all my fault. I am so, so sorry, Jay."

"Don't blame yourself, this sucks, but this is neither of our faults. Ok? I need you to not blame yourself, ok?" It was a demand, more so than a request, and Erin treated it as such as she wiped at her eyes. She nodded her head and she clenched her fists.

"Be serious with me, how do you feel?" Erin had to know, but she also knew that Jay would not have been forthcoming with his injuries if she hadn't have been blunt.

Jay closed his eyes, obviously in thought as his jaw clenched. "Top to bottom. My head hurts, however, I didn't lose consciousness and my head never jostled around too much, so I don't think that there is a concussion. Necks fine, shoulders are sore, but fine so far, but hanging like this, long term, won't be good. Chest," he paused for a second as he seemed to gauge how his body was feeling. "Probably a broken rib or two, but nothing that's too pressing yet, hurts like hell. Abdomen probably looks worse than it is, but it's hard to tell how the organs are doing. Then I have a knife through my leg. Which sucks."

Erin shook her head at the list, as she too looked him over with a careful eye. "Bleeding has slowed down, not as much running down my leg anymore, but that could be for a few things. I know we gotta get my leg up above my heart though."

"Anything else?" Erin sounded like she was asking jokingly, but Jay knew that she was upset.

"My backs sore. That's it though." Jay caught the look Erin was giving him and smirked, "I swear. That's it. We have to be on the same page and me neglecting to help anything won't help either of us."

The pair didn't know what else to say, so they sat in silence. They weren't sure how long it was, but Ashton eventually returned, and his scowl was prominent. "I have to leave."

He went straight for Jay and pulled out the knife in his leg. Jay couldn't help the sound that escaped, like a gasp that had collected a few sound in it as it snowballed out of Jay's mouth. Erin was certain that it had to do something with the aggression being so surprisingly sudden, but it only took Ashton a few minutes to pull Jay over the mattress next to Erin and lock his ankle up to the shackle on the wall as well.

Ashton was running around, grabbing stuff off of the table and then throwing them into his bag.

Erin glanced at Jay, who was quick to put pressure on his leg, the once again bleeding wound having left a trail to the mattress from the middle of the room.

Erin looked back at Ashton as he picked up Erin's gun from the table and looked back at the pair. Then his bag was shouldered and he walked back over to Erin and Jay.

First, he seemed to be eyeing every inch of Erin. Remembering her. Mesmerizing her. It was the look that was given only when the one who was looking never expected to see the other person again. He reached forwards and placed a hand gently on her head. He ripped his hand away after a second, shaking out of the stupor he had just fallen into.

He looked to Jay, with disdain and near hatred in his eyes. "I hope you live through this Erin just so you can watch him die."

And then Ashton leveled the gun and fired.

* * *

"So Ashton took them from the diner, drove them in his car clear across the city, and we lost him at this light." To emphasize his point Adam pointed with the tip of his marker, at the spot in the map that he was referring to.

"Fortunately for us, the number of places he can go from there is extremely limited," Kevin exclaimed from beside Adam.

"Right, as in, there is only one general area." Adam agreed, waiting for a response from the rest of the team.

"Great, then what are we still doing here?" Voight asked the question, knowing that there was more than what Adam and Kevin were giving up.

"It's the warehouses by the docks. Have to be hundreds of buildings down there, and they could be in any one." Alvin caught on, staring intently at the map.

"Correct." Adam sighed.

"Well, then we search every single one of those buildings until we find them. Use every single foot patrol, meter maid, and useless detectives in the goddamn city until we bring our family home! Do we understand?" Voight hadn't meant to end his sentence yelling, but it got everyone moving. Instantly calls were being made, as a chorus of 'yes sirs' filtered through the air. Voight pointed to the remaining members of his team, "We're going to go looking for them. Now!"

* * *

"Erin, you gotta keep the pressure on it." Jay breathed, looking up at the ceiling. Concentrating on keeping his eyes open. It was a losing battle and he knew it, with the shoddy wrapped bandage on his leg, made up of Erin's jacket, and his own shirt was balled up and pressed into his newly adorned hole in his abdomen.

"I know Jay. I passed all my emergency first aid classes. Keep the pressure, keep you talking. But that'll only work for God knows how long." She was exasperated. Tired even, and if Jay had to hazard a guess, he would say scared, but at this point, he was teetering on the edge of 'no-man's-land.'

"Believe it or not Erin, time is definitely on our side. It's a gut shot, you know how long it takes for those to kill someone." He wasn't sure how much he believed the words, but he was trying his best to be positive about the situation. "And at least I got you with me."

"That's the problem, I shouldn't have let you come," Erin whispered the words, staring intently at the hands that were coated in a layer of Jay's blood.

"This is not your fault Erin. I've already told you that and I will tell you as many times as I need to to get it through your thick, beautiful skull." Jay felt a tickle at the back of his throat as he cleared his throat.

"Jay, if you-" she stopped the words before her mouth could form them, she watched Jay squirm under her, likely doing his best to stay awake, having lost too much blood at this point. "I won't be able to forgive myself."

"I don't," he licked his lips as he placed his own bloody hand on Erin's, "don't plan on dying." he smirked as his eyes slid shut.

"Jay?" Erin questioned, pulling one hand from the wound to rest on his face.

"'m still here. Surviving and shit." His eyes fluttered open for a moment as he looked up into Erin's eyes. "Hold me?"

She nodded, knowing exactly what he was talking about as she thought back to the countless nights of the pair of them resting on their couch. Jay, lying across the couch, his head tucked into her lap, her legs crossed under her. They had fallen asleep that way many times, with her rubbing his head and lulling him to sleep. Herself never far behind.

It took a little maneuvering and a couple of yelps from Jay before they were both comfortably lying on her mattress. "This is the life." Jay sighed, content for the time being.

"Regardless, we need to get help, soon," Erin replied, leaning her head back up against the wall, running one hand through his dark locks. The other hand, still pressing down into the abdomen.

"This'll be the 'ly time I say it, but I hope 'Oight interrupts us soon." Erin couldn't help the laugh that escaped.

* * *

"As soon we pulled into the intersection, he went running like a chicken with its head cut off." The uniformed officers pulled into the parking lot, jumping out of their car almost as soon as it was in park. "Asshole was on foot though, which means his car is here somewhere."

Voights head shot up as he looked through the window at one of the men he would hope he would never see again. "He's been hitting something though, his fists are messed up, and there's a good amount of blood on his sleeves. I doubt it's his."

"Ok everyone, find the warehouse with the suspects car in front of it. We gotta find them now!"

* * *

In the past twenty minutes, Jay faded quickly. He kept slipping in and out of consciousness, and no amount of yelling at him was helping. He was lethargic, and she wasn't sure how much longer they'd be able to stay like this before she would have to start making some drastic moves.

For the first time that day, Erin let her fear, anger, and helplessness escape her through her tears, during one of Jay's lucid moments.

"What are we going to do?" Erin cried, holding Jay's body close to her as his head lolled around on his collar bone. "Come on Jay, work with me here."

"I don' know. I'm tr'ing." The words were whispers that were breathed out as he would exhale shakily and inhale just as shakily.

"Give me an idea or something babe." Erin pulled his head up against her chest and sat her chin on top of his head.

"Jus' tr'ing to distract me." It was wheezy and quieter than before. Erin knew without a doubt that Jay was fading, and all the blood on the concrete floor beneath the shoddy mattress they were laying on was a pretty good indication that he didn't have long.

And she was crushed because there was nothing else she could do for him besides try to keep him awake and hold him until help arrived. Help that she wasn't sure that he would be able to survive until.

All she could do was continue to hold pressure, and hope that would be enough.

* * *

Voight had been the one to spot it. It was hidden under a tarp, and it had been a fluke with the wind that had drawn his attention, but the moment he had spotted it, he was yelling at Alvin to turn the car around.

He was running past the car and up to the door of the warehouse before Alvin yanked him back, turning him towards him. The sun was setting behind him, and right into Hank's eyes. "This is breaking every protocol there is, we need back up and we -"

"Screw protocol, I'm going in now!"

Alvin let him go, as Hank turned back to the door and kicked it in. Alvin radioing in. "We got a lead-"

"I found them, we need that ambo!" Alvin burst into the doorway himself and was taken aback at the scene off to the side. Erin was on top of Jay, doing compressions, pressing into his chest hoping that she could beat his heart for him. Alvin called into his radio as he got closer to the bloody mess in front of him. Hank pushed Erin off of Jay as he took over compressions, counting out loud with every shove into Jay's chest.

Alvin skidded to his knees beside them, taking a second to glance at Erin as she ducked down to breathe into Jay's open mouth. She acted fine, but there was so much blood, Alvin couldn't tell whose it was. There was a bruise that stretched across her cheek but that was it, he couldn't see any life threatening injuries on her, but once again, he just couldn't tell.

The sirens from the ambulances outside were closer, and Alvin could make out light bouncing off the walls from the open doorway. Seconds later, the rest of the team was there, off to the side as Hank and Erin continued to do what they could to save Jay's life.

The medics showed up shortly thereafter. Four of them stormed into the building, backboards, and gurneys at the ready. They immediately descended on the group as an officer walked over with bolt cutters, cutting the pair of detectives from their bonds.

Erin was pulled away by one pair of medics, as much as she swatted and screamed. Alvin stepped in to help hold her back as the second set of medics began to help Jay. They skipped the oxygen mask and went straight to the intubation kit, as the other attempted to patch up the holes. Erin began to calm down as another set of medics ran in, aiming to help with Jay. Soon, there were four medics huddled over Jay. One pushing oxygen, another setting up leads and bracing his neck in a c-collar, another finishing up the bandages on the wounds, and the final doing compressions.

Soon, the air shifted as they finished prepping him to move. The smallest technician jumped to do the compressions as the rest rolled Jay onto the back board. The medic positioned herself to continue compressions, as the other three and Voight grabbed the sides of the backboard and got him on the gurney.

Voight stepped back as the medics took over from there. Pushing Jay out of the warehouse and presumably to one of the ambulances. Voight didn't move, besides breathing in and out heavily as Erin continued to cry next to Alvin. "Hank, call ahead to Med. Will needs to know." It was a suggestion, and it was Alvin that brought Voight out of his stupor. He turned to Erin, who had successfully waved the medics away.

"Come here." He opened his arms as she walked into them, her body shuddering with every breath she dragged in. "You ok?" she nodded into his chest as Voight accepted the answer. "Ok, we can talk later, but we're gonna go to Med, ok, Erin?" she nodded again and the remaining team rushed from the warehouse. Splitting up into two separate vehicles, they drove off and away with the ambulances flashing lights, their own sirens clearing the way.

* * *

"Hello?" Will Halstead answered the phone, shooting up from the locker room bench. Natalie stared across at him expectantly. She had been left in charge of keeping an eye on will once the news got out that Jay and his partner had been kidnapped. "Alvin?"

Natalie watched with comforting eyes, laying a hand in his hand as he became lost in thought. She could tell Alvin was still talking, but Will had stopped listening. He sank to the bench again as he let the phone fall to his side, his face dropping just as quickly.

She quickly switched benches as she pulled the phone from his arm. "Alvin, this is Doctor Manning, everything ok?" she kept her eyes on Will as she listened to Alvin. She nodded as if the speaker could see her, but hearing everything Alvin had to say, she continued to squeeze Will's hands. When Alvin had finished speaking, she got a page on her pager, asking for her down in the ER. 'Trauma emergency'

"Thank you, detective. I just got paged down there so I'll do everything I can." She hung up as she turned Will's face towards her.

"I'm going to go take care of him, you understand me?" Will nodded, unshed tears in his eyes as Natalie wrapped her arms around him. "Do not go down there unless paged, you don't need to see this."

Will shook his head, "Let me be there for him?"

She thought about it for a second, but seeing the pleading look in Will's eyes, she gave way, "Fine, but you're there for his support, the moment you cross a line, you're out."

Will nodded, and the two took off.

* * *

"34-year-old male. Blood pressure is not reading, compressions have been done since we left. Slight pulse. GSW to the abdomen, suspected internal bleeding. A stab wound to the leg, no arteries hit, it's not bleeding right now, however worried about infection. Lots of bruises, ribs are broken by this point, lungs been nicked, which is why he's having issues breathing. We need to get some blood into him." Will watched his brother rolled into the ER, Natalie quickly grabbing the gurney and whisking him away towards the trauma room that had just been set up for him. A medic, whom he had seen a few times before was sitting above him, pressing down on his chest. Will stopped as the air from his lungs no longer seemed like enough. He could feel eyes on him as Jay disappeared, gone as soon as he arrived. It took him a few more seconds, but Will composed himself the best that he could, then ran off after them, shaking off the hand that had been rested on his shoulder at some point. He was sure it was meant to be comforting, but right then, it had felt like an elephant sitting on his chest.

Running into the second trauma room, Will quickly skidded around to the top of the bed. He stood where he didn't think he would be in the way as Natalie and Rhodes shouted orders at everyone that was in the room. Will could see Connor eye him warily but Natalie caught his eye and shook her head. Connor understood what she meant and continued on.

* * *

Erin could hear the shouting from outside the door, the closest the nurses would let her get. She could see Will at the head of the bed and was thankful that he was there, even if it meant he was breaking hospital policy.

But the shouting comforted her, and it was the one thing she was hoping for because she knew that if it were to go silent in there, then Jay would be gone.

* * *

It had taken a while before they got him stable enough to go up to surgery. Will had been kicked out after Jay had seemed to really be spiraling, and Erin and himself had sat outside the room the entire time, holding each other's hand in a show of comfort.

The rest of the team had hung back at this time, no words they could say at that point would help either of them.

When Jay had finally been stable enough for surgery, they had rushed him up, wasting no time for anything to go south again.

The wait had been agony. Will and Erin had ended up holding hands the entire night, neither of them brave enough to let go. Voight had been seated on Erin's other side, a comforting hand on his shoulder.

In the end, though, the wait had been worth it. The main issue had been blood loss, he had lost at least a pint and a half at the scene, and they had pumped twice that into him in the ER. His leg would have some muscle damage but a little physical therapy never hurt anyone. His lung had collapsed due to the 'great' pressure on his chest, but a few days with the chest tube and he would be fine. For now, he was on an oxygen cannula to keep the air flow constant.

The bullet in his abdomen, had surprisingly, missed most of the important things. He was missing half of his liver, but apparently, that would eventually grow back. Erin was surprised when she had heard that one.

There had been a concern after the fact that a tox screen had brought to life. Whatever Ashton had put in Jay's system was really bad, and Jay's body began to react adversely to it. It had taken hours to get his fever down, but when the worst of it was over, the doctors had compared it to something akin to withdrawal. That entire night, Erin and Will sat at Jay's bedside, listening to his incoherent mumblings, and his cries of pain. He had been incoherent of course, and they had been close to bringing out restraints.

Then morning came, and he pulled through.

Erin had noticed that all the bruises seemed to be intensifying, and Will had muttered something about how everything gets worse before it got.

Erin wasn't sure whether he was talking about the bruises, or about the entire situation.

But besides that, he would be fine.

Which led them to this point.

Erin looked at the hospital bed, the one her feet were currently resting on. Will obviously had connections, as both of them were seated comfortably in some of the most comfortable chairs the hospital had to offer.

Jay hasn't woken since his fever had been brought down, Will had said it was something to do with his body healing from all the trauma. Erin had joked and said it was just Jays 'lousy excuse to be lazy.' Will had smiled only half-heartedly as he continued to stare anxiously at Jay's monitors. Being a doctor, and as he actually understood what was on the screens, Erin supposed he might actually have a reason to be anxious as he's seen this stuff go wrong.

But Will hadn't held him as he died, and that had been what Erin was comparing his current self to. She was just happy that he was alive on his own accord.

Will had fallen asleep at some point, and Erin hadn't been far behind when she felt Jay's hand shift beneath hers. She hadn't paid much notice to it, as he had been twitching all day long, but the groan that followed this one wasn't something that had happened often. Her head shot up, as she looked up at his face.

His eyes were crinkling like they did every time he woke up. Like he was trying his best to stay awake, but the ingrained wake-up time would never allow him to sleep much longer. Then his eyelids fluttered and she was out of her chair, making sure that he could see her without much effort. "Jay?"

He didn't respond at first. Instead, he licked his lips as he swallowed roughly. "This is the worst hangover, ever." His voice was hoarse, which was possibly attributed to the ventilator that he had been put on, then taken off, then put back on, and then taken back off this morning. He kept his eyes shut, which Erin assumed a headache was giving him issues.

"Withdrawal is a bitch babe." Erin patted his face lovingly. She sat like that for a second, allowing herself to take pleasure in the warm skin beneath her fingertips.

"We made it." The words caught Erin by surprise as she opened her eyes and looked down at Jay's concerned face.

"We did. You almost didn't, but we did." Erin reassured as she watched Will's eyes open from his chair on the other side of the bed. He didn't make any large movements, instead, watching the interaction of the other two in the room.

"I distinctly remember telling you I wasn't going to die?" Jay snided, a casual smirk sitting on his lips.

"Yea, you know what, you feel those ribs that are going to start hurting like a bitch when the painkillers wear off?" Erin raised her eyebrows, moving her hand back to his hand as Will finally stood up and began to check the monitors, the stress of the last couple of days truly showing on his face. "That was me trying to keep your blood flowing because your heart stopped beating. You died, so you broke a promise."

Jay brought his eyebrows together, bringing his other hand not trapped by Erin's hands to his chest. "I am alive right now, right? This isn't some confusing ass heaven?" Erin smirked.

"No, Jay, you're alive right now," Will answered, leaning over as well. "I just paged your doctors, they'll both be up in a few minutes."

"Two doctors, must have been serious." Jay's smirk returned as Will swatted the back of his head.

"You ever scare us like this again, I'll kill you myself. Understand?" Will held his hand up above Jay's chest and Jay grabbed it, balling their hands up together and shaking it around for emphasis. With a nod, Will looked up at Erin. "Why don't you go inform the team?"

Erin nodded and looked back down at Jay. "I love you, you know that right?" Jay nodded, his eyes sliding shut on what appeared to be their own accord. "Good, I'll be back before you wake up again, I promise." Erin laid a kiss on the top of Jay's head and had to pull herself away from Jay.

She exited the room and walked right into her team. They all appeared with baited breaths, but as soon as Erin smiled the team let out a collective breath. "He's awake, and that ass hole is going to be just fine."

* * *

 _fin_

* * *

 **A/N: I hope you all enjoyed this monster and thank you all so much for the continued support that you guys show!**

 **I hope that I can be a bit more constant again, however, I have said that before, and at this point, I just want to tie up some loose ends.**

Thank you,

 _Tayler_


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